Anoushé Shojae-Chaghorvand

Lives and works in Philadelphia, PA, USA

Artist statement

I worship absurdity, it is my spirituality. I create primarily kinetic sculptures that operate as spatial cinema-- climactic looping installations-- that capture the complexity, violence, and absurdity of human exceptionalism. More specifically I focus on aspects of escapism in the American Dream, concerning pleasure-seeking and our obsession with amusement. My machines are meant to amuse but also break down. I am drawn to machines because of their capacity to serve, the amusement they offer, and their lifespan. The spinning shaft on a motor-- the embodiment of the machine's inner working parts, is trying to free itself from the mechanism that negates and harnesses its labor making it “useful”--its liberation is destroying its utility. As a first-generation Iranian-American living in the United States, I never felt any belonging here or in Iran. However, this is what makes me truly American -- operating in a liminal space--when does the amusement park become haunted and who is the man inside the machine inside the skin on the stage?

Artwork